optical pyrometry on conveyor belts
optical pyrometry on conveyor belts
(OP)
Has anyone had any experience of measuring the temperature of a product on a conveyor belt?
Is optical pyrometry the best method? If so, does the depth of material on the coveyor affect the reading by any great amount? Are pyro's accurate at lower ranges of temperature measurement? ie <60 degs c. Are they affected by steam rising from the product?
I haven't worked with pyro's for ages, and then on a different application & environment, but I'm sure one would do the job.
All comments appreciated.
Is optical pyrometry the best method? If so, does the depth of material on the coveyor affect the reading by any great amount? Are pyro's accurate at lower ranges of temperature measurement? ie <60 degs c. Are they affected by steam rising from the product?
I haven't worked with pyro's for ages, and then on a different application & environment, but I'm sure one would do the job.
All comments appreciated.





RE: optical pyrometry on conveyor belts
What is the material and what is your temperature range?
What kind of sensitivity do you need?
RE: optical pyrometry on conveyor belts
TTFN
RE: optical pyrometry on conveyor belts
But heck, go buy a mid level temp gun and experiment! They are invaluable for a hundred uses around ANY facility. Just keep it locked up because they are so useful they sprout legs. They run from $40 to $800 get a $200 one and it will be the most useful. Use it to study this method.
Point it at the conveyor load from different angles and distances. Then grab some material and use a thermometer to compare if you feel it is necessary.
When you're satisfied you can buy a fixed mount any-output version and wire it in.
These are the best from my experiences.
http://www.raytek-northamerica.com/index2.html
http://www.raytek-northamerica.com/index2.html
Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.- http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: optical pyrometry on conveyor belts
Unclesyd, I have used both dissapearing filament and IR types (IR mainly), the main application being measuring the temp of various rods and sections going through rolling mills. In these cases the target objects are usually at a similar place when they pass the pyro and are glowing hot.
In the application I am looking at trying a pyro on, I would imagine the material to be 40 - 50 degs C most of the time - not sure what it would reach before it compromised the integrity of the conveyor, also sometimes the belt is run full and other times it is completely empty so the target surface could vary in distance from the pyro by around 300mm.
Thanks for the replys so far. Any other non-contact methods of temp measurement anyone could suggest will be considered, the simpler the better.
RE: optical pyrometry on conveyor belts
You will probably be limited to IR in your temperature range. Here is a good tutorial on the various types of IR instruments.
h
Here are the two leaders in the optical field. You may recognize one of them.
http://www.spectrodyne.com/
http://www.pyrometer.com/
RE: optical pyrometry on conveyor belts
m777182
RE: optical pyrometry on conveyor belts
Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.- http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: optical pyrometry on conveyor belts
I'm really just after the simplest, most reliable non-contact method of measuring a generally low temperature ore product that travels on a conveyor (and as such has a variable bed depth), and is suitable in an industrial environment.
The idea being to raise an alarm if the product temp gets too high.
RE: optical pyrometry on conveyor belts
These units will not care about typical surface levels, speed, or distance from your conveyor product. As long as the unit 'sees' just what is on the conveyor. Like any non-contact system they have a spot size verse distance. The farther away they are from the target the bigger spot they are registering. This can help you get an average reading over a larger part of your product. If however the unit also is seeing, say, the floor next to the conveyor, you will not get the reading you are expecting or desire. So. Figure out where you "can" install a sensor and then make sure its reading area at that mounting distance works for you.
ht
Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.- http://www.flaminsystems.com